
World crude steel production fell 4.7 percent year on year to 152.8 million tonnes in July 2024, the World Steel Association reported on 22 August. China produced 82.9 million tonnes in the month, down 9.0 percent on July 2023 and down 9.5 percent from June, the lowest monthly figure of the year and the lowest since December 2015. Output in the first seven months of the year totalled about 1.11 billion tonnes globally, down 0.7 percent, with China at 613.7 million tonnes, down 2.2 percent. Chinese mills slashed output as margins collapsed, with only about 5 percent of producers profitable, according to consultancy Mysteel, and daily output fell to 2.68 million tonnes, the lowest of the year. The cuts reflected Beijing's guidance that annual output should show no growth, as well as a property market that continued to drag steel demand lower.
Source: World Steel Association — https://worldsteel.org/media/press-releases/2024/july-2024-crude-steel-production/?tag=%2Fpress-releases&origin=%2F
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed).
